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C6 Corvette ZR1 & Z06General info about GM’s Corvette Supercar, LS9 Corvette Technical Info, Performance Upgrades, Suspension Setup for Street or Track
considering purchasing a 4 post lift, I see all different inside measurements between the columns. anyone have a lift that they use for their widebody and can share some insight and brand name. I intend this lift mainly for storage
Having been involved in the installation and repair of many brands of above ground lifts, I can't think of any that are not wide or long enough to handle a wide body Vette. I don't have any experience with the cheapest brands because I mostly worked in commercial (dealerships and repair shops). If you are looking in the used market for a bargain, be sure you are getting the correct voltage. Most used lifts on the market come from commercial applications and many will be 3 phase. A good number of them will be single phase 220/240 volt. That is your best bet.
Stay away from the 115 volt versions unless you have no other choice. They are slow and clunky. If you are installing it your self, be sure to check floor thickness and quality of the concrete. Follow the installation instruction recommendations for the floor. The lags won't hold in poor quality concrete. If they pull out, the lift along with your car on it can tip over with you under it. NOT GOOD and the manufacturer will wash their hands of any claim. Take as much time as needed to insure that each post is EXACTLY where it's supposed to be otherwise the carriages will wear out quickly and the automatic locks might bind. Be sure there is no underground utilities where you plan to run a hammer drill through the slab. Only other thing I can think of is radiant floors. Punching a hole in a radiant tube = bad day.
If you have a radiant floor and the tubing is close enough to the surface, you can let the floor cool off for 24 hrs. Then crank the supply temp to the floor and turn it on. Look at the floor with a thermal camera. You should be able to see where the individual tubes are. This really sucks because you will find that what works for 1 post won't work for another. Usually each base plate will require 4 lags. With a radiant floor you will most likely not be able to position it so all 4 lags can be used on all 4 posts. Never omit more then 1 lag per post on a 4 post lift. If it's a 2 post lift ALL lag points must be used.
I've been recently researching this 4 post lift issue myself. I've found that in my situation, the dimensions of the lift are the most important factors in my selection along with quality. Some are too wide, some too long, and some are too tight between the posts. There are a number of good certified lifts out there that I have researched. The best fit for my space seems to be the Bendpack HD-7W. Just compare lift dimensions with your workable space and go with a quality certified lift that fits the criteria. Lots of good advice from forum members. Good luck.
A lot of misinformation is posted. The only difference between a 110VAC motor and a 220VAC motor is the hydraulic pressure generated. The lower hydraulic pressure from the 110VAC motor slightly increases the time to lift a car(gravity lowers the car) and affects the weight of the load to be lifted.
In my two Autolifters 4-post lifts I have the 110VAC 3/4 HP motors and the lifting capacity is reduced from 7,000 pounds load capacity to 6,000 pounds load capacity(not a problem as none of my cars weigh over 3300 pounds). The design/strength of the 6,000 pound lift is the same as the 7,000 pound lift. It also takes approximately 60-90 seconds longer to fully raise my cars from the ground level vs a 220/240VAC motor. No big deal as I don't schedule anything in my daily activities to within 60-90 seconds. Also the 110VAC 3/4 HP motors supply plenty of hydraulic fluid/pressure to raise the lifts in a very smooth manner, just a little slower than the 1 HP 220 VAC motors.
Also, to the best of my knowledge, none of the "hobby" 4-post lifts require anchoring the posts to the concrete. Most 4-post lifts come with(or affer as an option) a caster kit that attachs to each post so the lift can be easily moved around. I've had my lifts for over fifteen years and they have never been anchored to the concrete floor. They only need to be mounted level.
My Autolifters(same design as the BackYard Buddy) have a 77 inch distance over the ramps and have a 90 inch clearance between the cables. No problem driving my wide body Z06(with the mirrors extended) on and off the ramp to change the oil/filter.
The lifts are extremely easy to erect. I had the freight line drop them off at a local truck terminal, and then, at my convenience, I drove over with a 12 foot single axle trailer behind a SUV to pick them up(shipping weight was 1500 pounds), and carried one on each of two trips. The terminal loaded them onto my trailer using their forklift. The packaged lifts are designed to be handled from the ends, not the sides. Just backed into the driveway and disassembled the packaging and carried each component into the garage individually. The heaviest component was the 15 foot long ramp with the hydraulic cylinder attached(around 400 pounds). Myself and three friends assembled the first one in four hours and the second one in three hours. As old men, we don't get into a hurry and take plenty of coffee and then pee breaks.
Based on my experience with my lifts(110% satisfied), if I was in the market for another 4-post lift it would be a BackYard Buddy since Autolifters is out of business and If I was on a tight budget, I would go with an Atlas Garage Pro 8000 4-p0st lift at $1995. It has nearly the same dimensions as my present lifts(which I know that work with my Z06). Sold by Greg Smith Equipment Co. The only thing is they come with a 110VAc motor that requires a 30 amp circuit. In my case, I would have to run a new 10/2 with ground circuit(30 amp) instead of being able to use my existing 14/2 with ground circuit(15 amp). I don't need the 8,000 pound capacity and would prefer to have a 3/4 HP 110 VAC motor(even though I lose 60-90 seconds on time when raising a car).
With the Atlas lift, the distance across the runways(ramps) is less then I presently have at 74.5 inches but that is not a problem as the distance between the pulley covers in 80.5 inches, so plenty of room to clear the tires. The clearance between the cables is 90.5 inches, a half inch more than I currently have.
i run a bendpak HD9 220V, high lift garage door conversion, liftmaster jackshaft opener. very happy with all aspects of this install so far (had it around 3 years or so). my 110" ceiling is just enough for a Z06 and 335i; not tall enough for the M3 + Z06, so the 335i and Z have to be stacked. bendpak has very decent documentation posted as far as dimensions are concerned. i did find that the 'extended' Al ramps bendpak sells were insufficient for the Z and had to build some ~5' ramps. also, my lift requires no lag bolts and you can add a caster wheel option that'll let you move the lift around.
I bought a 2 post lift 2 yrs ago. Not a brand name, works good. If I had to do it over again, I would buy a Bendpak 4 post. Most of the car shows on tv that have lifts are using Bendpak. A little more expensive, but probably worth it. My lift works good, but each side is not exactly equal when going up or down.
6 years with the bendpac hd9. No problems except the long ramps are very heavy
I use race ramps which weigh only a few pounds each for my Bendpak instead of the heavy steel ramps that came with the lift. The Race ramps hook in so they are secure while in use.
04-29-2016, 05:03 PM
Wide body 4 post car lift ?
